Is Mindfulness Just a Trendy Fad?
Mindfulness – Just a trendy fad?
People often come to life coaching wanting help to change. For example, to change habits they have or the way they usually tend to respond in particular situations. These changes are often hard to make because most of us operate on ‘autopilot’ or ‘muscle memory’. We respond without conscious thinking, to situations as they come up. We have habitual responses that are often quite deeply ingrained.
Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company famously said that if we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always got. To change we must turn off the autopilot and respond consciously or ‘mindfully’ to each particular situation rather than just ‘doing what we have always done’.
To ‘turn off the autopilot’ we must be able to recognise or notice the point where we would usually react automatically, so we can consciously modify our response in a way that will better move us towards our chosen goals. Mindfulness helps us ‘notice the gap’ that very brief interval just before making a habitual response where we can consciously choose a more positive response.
Following extensive research, mindfulness training has now been widely adopted in both coaching and counselling because it helps us be more aware of our thoughts and feelings, and therefore recognise when opportunities to make conscious change arise.
In a simple form of mindfulness, our coaching client sits quietly, often focusing on their breathing. They practice daily or weekly simply noticing their thoughts and feelings, not engaging with them or judging them.
If you would like to develop more mindfulness, here is a simple practice to start.
Find a quiet space and sit comfortably.
Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Focus on your breath, feeling the rise and fall of your chest or abdomen.
When your mind wanders gently notice your thought and guide your attention back to your breath.
Practice for just a few minutes each day, gradually increasing the duration as you become more comfortable.
Contact Steve to book a FREE initial coaching session 021 264 2506